&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Ben-Gvir enters Al-Aqsa with 570 settlers ahead of Yom Kippur, draws condemnation from Jordan and Palestinian Authority")
Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem again on Sunday, along with 570 Israeli settlers and performed Jewish prayers in the courtyard. This incursion happened in the lead-up to the Yom Kippur period, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. The incident triggered condemnation from the Palestinian Authority and Jordan.
Ben-Gvir toured the site’s courtyards amid a heavy security presence and performed Talmudic rituals in the eastern area of the site. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also visited a labyrinth of tunnels in the occupied East Jerusalem on Saturday. He posted pictures of the visit on Instagram on Sunday, documenting his participation in Jewish “Selichot” prayers at the Western Wall, known as the al-Buraq Wall to Muslims.
Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, also known as Al-Haram Al-Sharif, is one of the most politically and religiously volatile flashpoints in West Asia. Since the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel has captured East Jerusalem; an agreement was reached to avoid a catastrophic religious war and maintain the status quo. Jews and Christian could visit as tourists but were forbidden from praying there. Jordan-based Jerusalem Awqaf Administration holds legal custodianship, while Israel manages border and external security.
The Awqaf warned that the actions “fuel anger among Muslims worldwide” and “constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of the holiest Islamic site and a malicious attempt to impose a new reality and alter the historical and legal status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque.” The Palestinian Authority labelled the incursion an act of intentional religious warfare and a direct threat to regional stability. Regional experts have long predicted that the Al-Aqsa Mosque to be a flashpoint of a global war. In 2000, a controversial visit to the site by Israeli politician Ariel Sharon led to the Palestinian uprising, the Second Intifada; in 2021, Israeli Police raids led to an 11-day war between Hamas and Israel.
This is Ben-Gvir's 17th incursion into the mosque compound since taking office in 2023. Ben-Gvir have been urging for Jewish worshippers to be granted greater access to Al-Aqsa Mosque, which they refer to as the Temple Mount.
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